Fire Emblem Heroes Supports: Eirika and Nino
by Infinite Number
Summary: My take on how Support Conversations between two of my favourite and most used units would play out. Contains mid-game spoilers for FE7 and end-game spoilers for FE8. Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!
1. C

"Ah, there you are, Nino! What are you reading?"

Nino jumped, whirling her head around to see the owner of the voice.

"O-oh. You're...Princess Eirika, aren't you?" Nino had fought alongside the blue haired woman a few times now and admired her rapier skills from afar, but had yet to speak to her properly. She hadn't expected to meet her in the library, of all places.

"Just Eirika is fine. Besides, we're both a long way from home, aren't we? My title doesn't mean anything here."

"I - I guess so." Nino felt the warmth in her cheeks and hoped Eirika would have forgotten her first question, but...

"So? What are you reading?"

"Uh..." Nino wet her lips and showed her the cover. Eirika's eyes widened, as she knew they would.

"Oh...if you don't mind me asking, isn't that book...a little young for you?"

"Yeah..." Nino looked down. "I...I can't read very well."

"Oh!" Eirika clapped a hand to her mouth. "I didn't know that! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay!" Nino waved a hand in front of the not-a-Princess-right-now, "It's fine, really! My mother just...never really bothered to teach me."

"Oh..."

"Oh! And I was always really busy helping my father and my brothers, so I didn't have much time anyway!"

"...I - I see."

Eirika chewed her lip. She thought she'd seen people from every possible walk of life back in Magvel, but coming to Zenith had opened her eyes. There were such different people from such different worlds. There were so many different ways to live. She'd met royals with wealth she couldn't even fathom, mercenaries who'd lived lives to make her brother salivate...

And people like the poor girl before her, who couldn't even read.

 _Oh, you poor thing..._

"Didn't...didn't anyone ever offer to teach you?"

"Yeah!" the little girl brightened up and it felt like a fire had been lit in Eirika's heart. "Guess what? When I was travelling with Lord Eliwood and Jaffar, I found my uncle! ...at least, I think he's my uncle!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah! And he helped me a whole lot!"

"Wow! Is he here now?"

"No..." Nino's face fell and it felt like the room had gone dark too.

"Oh...he hasn't arrived yet?"

Nino shook her head.

The power to summon people from other worlds was a random one, as she understood it. While the Summoner could estimate which world they would summon a "Hero" from, they could only access certain worlds at certain times. To make matters worse, if a given opportunity passed, they would need to wait for another window to open if they wanted to call people from that world again. Not only that, the time in the other world they called Heroes from was also in flux. On one hand, this power could reunite deceased parents with their children or rekindle friendships by summoning two people from different moments in time (she herself prayed every day for a certain someone to arrive, healthy and of sound mind again). But on the other, there was no guarantee that Nino's uncle would answer the call the next time the summoner could access her country - Elibe, if she recalled correctly - nor that he would even be alive when it arrived.

"Eirika? Are - are you okay?"

The Princess started. "Oh? Oh! Oh, yes. Yes, I'm fine." She swallowed, not knowing why had she gotten choked up all of a sudden. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"I hope so..." Nino looked back down.

Eirika had the fierce urge to wrap the little girl before her into a hug. She fought it down and instead asked "Until he gets here though, would...would you like me to teach you in his place?"

The green haired girl looked up at her in surprise. "A - are you sure?"

"Of course!"

"I'm not very good..."

"I grew up teaching my brother everything except fighting," Eirika rolled her eyes and laughed. "No one's as bad as him."

Nino giggled, then looked mortified. "I'm really slow..."

"I don't mind. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses."

"Wouldn't you rather be with your friends?"

"Like I am right now?"

Nino blinked at her a few times until her eyes went wide from realisation. Her face turned beet red and whipped downward. "...really?"

"Of course!" Eirika couldn't help beaming. "So? Do we have a deal?"

Nino looked up after a moment's silence, cheeks still red, with a small smile of her own. "...okay."

Eirika fought the urge to hug the little girl again.

She settled instead for a simple pat on the head.


	2. B

"Now, Eirika!"

"Raargh!"

Eirika thrust out her palm. The straw figure before her was engulfed by a swirling black fog that dissipated with a quiet _bang_ once she closed her fist. Eirika sighed and closed the book in her other hand. Gripping the reins of her horse, she turned to the little girl clinging to her waist.

"So, how was that?"

They were in the fields outside the castle barracks. While the barracks had training rooms for infantry and armoured soldiers to train, it also had large fields to better accommodate cavaliers and fliers, with rows upon rows of training dummies to practice with.

"It was great! You're really good at this, Eirika!" The green haired girl nodded repeatedly.

Eirika beamed. "Only because I have a great teacher."

"O - oh. That's not true..." Nino's cheeks flushed. "You were already really good."

"You think so?" Eirika chewed her lip and set the horse into a light trot.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. I'm fine." She flashed another smile at Nino over her shoulder. "I was just thinking about the person who taught me the basics, back home."

"Oh...who was it? Ah! If you don't mind me asking!" she added, horrified.

The blue haired girl laughed. "It's quite alright. It was an old friend of mine who was learning magic himself. When we weren't studying history or politics or with my brother...well, he'd show me whatever he'd practised that day and make me try it too." She chuckled to herself. "I think he liked teaching magic; it was the one thing he completely eclipsed my brother and I in..." she sighed.

"Did he use dark magic too?"

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

"Is everything okay?" Eirika stopped the horse.

"It's fine. It's just...in my world, dark magic is dangerous. Only a few people can use it without losing their minds. My uncle lost all his brothers to it, you know?"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Eirika stroked Nino's hair. "I've heard that from someone else too. I suppose Magvel was just lucky, huh?" She froze, then put her hand down. "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh! It's not your fault!" Nino balled up her hands and held them to her chest. "I'm happy you can use dark magic safely, honest!"

"Thanks, Nino." The girls smiled at one another for a while before Eirika set the horse walking again.

A few minutes later.

"Hey...Eirika?"

"Yes?"

"You know the friend who taught you magic?"

"Yes?"

"Was it...was it Lyon?"

Eirika stiffened. Nino flinched from the sensation in her arms. "I'm sorry!" she yelped.

"Don't be," came the quiet reply. "And yes. Yes it was."

The atmosphere had been tense among the Magvellians a few days ago and it was only through eavesdropping that Nino had learned why.

The Summoner had called forth a new "Hero."

However, this "Hero" wasn't a force for good as most of the Order was. Instead it was the Crown Prince Lyon, wielder of dark magic and the cause of the war Eirika had fought in before coming to Zenith. Not only that, Lyon had put up a fight before joining their ranks. Now while this was rare, it wasn't unusual; a few other Heroes had fought back against the Summoner's Divine Weapon - including Ursula from her own world - but from what she gathered, Lyon had been his warmongering self on the battlefield. Yet when she'd met him in the barracks yesterday...

Well...he didn't look at all how she'd imagined.

She'd also heard that Eirika had taken his arrival worse than anyone else from her world, having locked herself in her quarters for days on end.

"I'm sorry..." she said again.

"It's alright, I promise."

"Um...he seemed nice."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was really polite and..." she paused.

"Yes?"

"He...he didn't look like someone who'd start a war..." Nino looked down.

Eirika sighed, but kept the horse moving. "He really isn't," she began. "Lyon...was so gentle - the gentlest person I knew."

Nino nodded, her forehead brushing her friend's back.

"My brother and I would often go to Grado to study with him, and we would always have so much fun!" she chuckled. "And when we went home, we'd always count the days until our next visit..." she trailed off.

Another nod.

"He..." Eirika swallowed. "He was my best friend."

Nino was still.

"And then the war came. I know he did what he did because he wanted to help his people, but he...in my time, Lyon is dead."

Nino sat up straight with a gasp, "I didn't know that, I'm so sorry!"

"I told you, it's fine!" Eirika smiled over her shoulder. "But yes, he's dead in my time, and I thought that was that."

"But...doesn't that mean this Lyon comes from your past?"

Eirika looked down for a moment. "No...I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"This Lyon...still remembers the war, so...I don't know. He died in my world, but perhaps there are other Magvels out there - and Elibes, maybe even other Zeniths - where things happened differently, and in one of those worlds he survived."

"That's good...isn't it?"

Another sad smile and another sigh before Eirika spurred the horse. "I wish it were that simple."

"Why?"

Eirika took a deep breath. "In my world, Lyon started the war because he was possessed. At first the true Lyon surfaced from time to time, but then the monster controlling him used that to its advantage; it kept pretending to be him to confuse and trick us."

"Oh..." Nino was starting to understand.

"It would pretend to be Lyon and ask for help, saying he could break free of the Demon King's control if I could just give him what he wanted...and when I did, it laughed in my face and destroyed what was, at the time, our best chance of ending the war. To make matters worse," Eirika chuckled, but the sound chilled Nino to the core. "At that time Lyon was already dead. When we defeated the Demon King, he only had enough time to say he was sorry before..." she swallowed.

"Eirika..."

"It's fine," she said again, wiping her eyes. "But that's why I'm scared. This Lyon remembers the war and says he's sorry for everything he's done, but how can I know it's really him? What if it's another act and he tricks us again?"

"But...you know better this time, right?"

"I'm not so sure." she looked at her horse's neck. "The demon could be so convincing...I can't trust myself to tell the difference anymore."

"But you wanna trust him, right?"

"Of course I do," another faint smile. "But I don't want to lose anything or anyone because I was blind to the truth again, especially now that I have so many new friends to protect." Another pat on the head.

"But there are so many of us now...the Order has so many powerful warriors and mages and priests, surely they could stop him if he turned evil again?"

"I..." a pause. "Nino...what are you saying?"

"What if he really has changed? You said yourself that this Lyon could come from a world where things happened differently. What if this Lyon really is Lyon? You want your friend back, don't you?"

"Well...yes..."

"So it's worth trying, right?"

"But what if - "

"You need to trust people more!" Nino didn't know why she was shouting. "If I didn't trust _my_ enemies, Jaffar and I would be dead right now because my mother betrayed us and tried to kill me!" She heaved while Eirika just blinked at her.

"Nino..."

The little girl's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry," she felt her face heat up. "I didn't say anything. Please forget I said that?"

"What was that about your mother?"

"Please, it's nothing!"

"No, you can't just - " Eirika sighed and took a deep breath. _I'll just ask her about it later._ "Hmm. You have a point."

"I do?"

"Yes." Eirika smiled and nodded to herself. "I'm scared, but you would have been scared as well, weren't you?"

"...yeah..."

"Well, if you say I should talk to him, I will."

"Really?"

"Yep!" she beamed. "Once we're done here, I'll go talk to him. Will you come with me?"

"Me?! I mean...sure!"

The blue haired woman laughed. "Thanks, sweetie." She looked ahead. "Now, why don't I try using this tome at a gallop next time?"

Nino hugged her tight with a yelp. "Please, don't!"

Another laugh.


	3. A

"Say, Eirika?"

"Hmm?" Eirika looked up.

The two were sitting side by side in the library. The book Nino had been reading when they first met lay finished beside them, with the little girl currently holding one with an intended audience two years older. At first Eirika thought it lucky that the library had books catered to children, but with the number of manaketes in the Order she supposed it made sense.

"Do you know someone called Florina?" Nino cocked her head.

"Florina? Oh! She's your friend with the lilac hair, isn't she? I've seen her a few times, but I've never had the chance to talk to her."

Nino's face fell. "Oh, but you should! She's really nice!"

"If she's _your_ friend, she's bound to be nice!" Eirika giggled. "Will you introduce me to her?"

"Okay!" Nino's grin was contagious. "You two will get along great, I promise!"

"Really? Well, why don't you tell me about her?"

"Oh, Florina's the best!" Nino looked up with a pure smile. "We met when we were travelling with Lord Eliwood," she began. "She's really shy, especially around men, and she's really quiet, but she's also really, really sweet! She comes from a place called Ilia where it's really cold and she has two older sisters and all three of them are pegasus knights - "

"Nino!" Eirika laughed. "Breathe!"

"Hmm? Oh, okay." She took a deep breath. "And...and she can be a bit clumsy sometimes. Like, once she was so scared of archers hitting Huey - that's her pegasus' name, by the way - that she fell from the sky and landed on Lord Hector! I mean, I wasn't around at the time, but no one was hurt so it's really funny, right?"

"You know a lot about her," Eirika smiled.

"Yeah! Oh, and she's been teaching me how to ride Huey and says I'm getting really good at it!"

"Just as good as you are at reading, I'm sure." Eirika nodded to the book in Nino's hands. "You're not slow at all, you know that?"

Nino blushed. "You - you still help me with all the big words."

"Only some, and you're already learning to break them down for yourself."

"Oh...okay." Nino looked at the book for a moment. "Florina helped me with my brothers too," she mumbled.

"Oh?"

All Eirika knew is that Nino and her brothers had parted on bad terms and that she had come to blows with one of them. She had decided then and there that she didn't need to know the rest, especially not after learning of her mother.

"Yeah. She let me talk to her about them and..." she sniffed. "We had a big ol' cry about them together." She laughed it off, but the sound was forced. "Pretty silly, huh?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh..." Nino paused, then shrugged. "Ever since then, she's been like a big sister to me."

"...oh." Why did that make her stomach churn? "You spent a lot of time together, huh?"

"Yep! I have other really, really good friends too, like Jaffar and Rebecca and Erk - he isn't here yet - but Florina's the only one I can talk to like that."

"...well, that's what girls are for," Eirika smiled and felt awful for her brief hesitation. Now that she mentioned it, Eirika did remember seeing the two together often. They always looked like they were having too much fun for her to interrupt them, but it had been making her uncomfortable lately and she didn't understand why. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks!" Nino nodded to herself, then looked at her. "So...should I introduce you two when we finish today?"

"Wait...today?" The Princess sat up. " _Today_ today?"

"Uh..." Nino cocked her head. "Well, yeah? I mean...I can't have two sisters who've never even met each other yet, can I?"

Eirika frowned at her with an open mouth for a few seconds. Then...

"Ah! Eirika! What are you doing?!" Nino gasped, face turning red. "Seriously! I - I can't breathe!"

But Eirika was hugging her too tightly to care.


	4. A Plus

_The two had fought together the previous day and the poor mage had outdone herself yet again, barely able to stay awake as they trudged back to the castle barracks with the rest of their team. Eirika walked her to her room, hoping she would turn herself in for an early night._

 _She didn't expect the girl to jump out of a corridor that evening to startle her on her way to dinner._

 _"Nino!" Eirika took a deep breath to calm herself. "What's wrong, couldn't you sleep?"_

 _"No, I'm fine." Nino shook her head. "Say, Eirika..."_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Um..." Nino dug into the floor with her foot as she twisted her hands behind her back. "D - do you have any time tomorrow?"_

 _"I should, yes. Why?"_

 _"Oh!" Nino perked up, then looked down again with pink cheeks. "Oh, I was...I was just wondering...if we could go to the field tomorrow morning."_

 _"Oh, you want to practice magic again? That's fine by me, but are you sure we should go in the morning? Aren't you ti - "_

 _"No, no, no!" she shook her head with vigour "It's not about practising magic!" she blushed. "I just...wanna show you something I've been working on."_

 _"Oh? What is it?"_

 _"I can't just tell you!" Nino pouted._

 _"I suppose so," Eirika laughed. "When you put it that way I can't possibly refuse! Now, when exactly do you want to meet?"_

Curiosity had gotten the better of the Princess and she had arrived earlier than promised, only to find Nino already outside and staring at the sky.

"O - oh! Eirika!" Nino caught her in the corner of her eye and jumped. "There you are!" She struck a casual pose, but there was no hiding how tense she was.

"Here I am," Eirika echoed, grinning with a hand on her hip. "Am I early?"

"No, not at all!" Nino shook her head and her hands. "I mean, early for what? I mean, I just wanted to hang out with you today!"

Eirika raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I'm here. What are we doing?"

"Oh..." Nino patted the grass with the tip of her boot. "Er...first, good morning Eirika! Did you sleep well?"

"I slept great, thanks to you."

"Huh?"

""You dealt with those soldiers all by yourself, didn't you? The rest of us hardly did anything yesterday."

"...oh." Another blush. "Only because you were with me, Eirika."

"Really?"

"Yeah...it's strange, but...I feel like I can fight better when I'm with you."

"Really?" she asked again.

"Yeah," Nino thought for a moment. "I don't know how to describe it, but...I feel like I can do more when I'm around you. I feel so much stronger!"

"Wow..." Eirika placed a hand on her cheek. "You're making me blush!"

"But it's true! You're always supporting me in and out of battle, Eirika, and that's why I wanted to show you - " the girl froze with her mouth wide open. Eirika fought the urge to chuckle.

"Anyway, are you sure _you_ slept well, Nino? It's morning but you're already dressed!"

In fact, not only was Nino dressed, she was wearing new armour. In addition to her usual robes, she now wore a purple breastplate and knee high boots. Her cape was longer too, now that Eirika looked closer. It was a bit worrying that the girl was already in such attire so early in the day.

"Oh, I'm fine," Nino yawned.

Eirika put her hands on her hips, but couldn't think of anything appropriate to say. She sighed, arms flopping to her sides. "If you're sure. But I want you to take it easy today, alright?"

"I will, don't worry." she looked at the sky again.

"What are you looking for?"

"N - nothing! I'm just...thinking!"

"About?"

"Um...about what I wanted to show you!"

Eirika looked around. "I don't see anything. Is it a new spell?"

"No, not a spell..." Nino took a quick glance at the sky again, hoping Eirika wouldn't notice (she did). "So...I've been working on something for a while now -with Florina's help of course - and she said I'm good enough that I could show other people if I wanted to, so I...I showed Jaffar and he said he was impressed too..." Nino rubbed her pink cheeks.

Eirika smiled. She'd seen Nino's armour on others before and knowing she'd been working with Florina gave her a good clue as to what this surprise could be. As for Jaffar, Eirika wasn't upset that he had been the first to see it; though Nino would never admit it, it was clear she felt something for the man - which was something she admired since Eirika herself always felt chills down her spine whenever he was near.

"Then I'm sure it'll be worth seeing," she smiled at Nino who looked horrified for some reason.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that! Florina's too sweet to say something's bad right away and Jaffar always likes everything I do, so it's not that I - "

"I trust their judgement." Eirika just smiled. Nino took a few deep breaths and gave her a weak smile back.

"I think it'll still take a little while though..." she mumbled to herself.

"Really?" Eirika glanced at the sky too and saw nothing but pale blue. She looked down in time to see Nino hide a wince, but smiled instead of commenting on it. "Congratulations, by the way."

"What? No!" Nino paused. "...what for?"

"I met your Uncle Canas this morning and Florina said your Uncle Legault arrived last night. I'm happy for you." She patted her friend on the head. Nino beamed despite her previous nerves.

"Oh, yeah. I was so surprised when they showed up, y'know? I was waiting for them for so long and then they show up one after the other! And..." she swallowed. "And they both know who I am!"

"Of course they do!" Eirika knew all too well how Nino must have felt. "From what they tell me, you're too important for them to _not_ know."

Nino gaped for a moment, then turned away. "You're embarrassing me!"

Eirika laughed. "Then you have to tell _them_ off, not me!"

Nino opened her mouth but was cut off by a loud whinny.

From above.

She jumped and looked up, then laughed. "There you are!" She jumped on the spot and waved her arms like a child. "We're here! I'm here!"

The pegasus let out another whinny and made its spiralling descent, lazily flapping its wings until it trotted to a halt beside beside Nino who then ran her fingers through its mane. It wore a matching purple bridle and saddle of the same shade as Nino's new attire, with a pale blue banner hanging from its front.

"I've always wanted to ride a pegasus," Nino began, still stroking her new friend's head. "And when Florina and I were feeding the pegasi in the stables one of them really liked me! She says that happens sometimes, so..." she looked at Eirika with a shy smile "she said she'd teach me how to ride him and...she did?" she shrugged.

"That's wonderful! I'm sure you picked it up quickly too!"

"Not really..." she blushed. "I made a lot of mistakes..."

"Yet here you are."

"I - I guess..."

"Learning to ride a pegasus is huge! You should be proud of yourself, sweetie!" Eirika gave her a short round of applause. While Nino shied away from the sound, her pegasus stood tall and snorted.

"Th - thanks..." Nino adjusted her hairband. "So...I was wondering if you wanted to fly with me? I'm not good enough to fly as high or as long as Florina can, but she says I can help out with smaller fights and carry messages if anyone needs me too."

"That's plenty, I'd love to fly with you! And thank you so much for wanting to invite me!" Eirika pressed her own cheeks, "I'm just...I'm so..." she squealed and wrapped Nino up in a hug. The little girl yelped and let out an embarrassed giggle, but she also gave the older girl a few, tentative pats on the back.

"Of course I'd invite you, right? You're my sister after all!"

Eirika hummed and placed a kiss on her forehead. "And when we're done," she pulled back "we can race! Your pegasus against my horse. What d'ya say?"

"No!" Nino stepped out of the embrace, horrified. "Eirika! I told you I'm not that good yet!"

Eirika burst into laughter. "I'm just kidding, don't worry!" she winked and, still chuckling, wiped her tears away. "Now, do I need to do anything before I can sit on its back?"

* * *

 _Hmm..._ Eirika thought to herself once they took off, her arms around Nino's slim waist as she listened to the little girl's peals of laughter. _Is this how Ephraim feels when he's with Myrrh? No wonder he always keeps her around._

She didn't want to leave Nino either. She knew they would part someday; they each had roles left to play in their home worlds after all.

But for now it was just the two of them, their pegasus, and a clear, blue sky.


End file.
